Cicada Killer (Sphecius speciosus)

[Precarious]

Found this thing in the woods! Ive been roaming these trails my whole life and never saw one before.

Turns out they are indigenous. As the name implies they feed on cicada. In fact, they carry them! The female flies a cicada twice her weight back to her burrow to deposit eggs. :blink:

 

[ImTheBugFreak]

why didn't it stink you? Also Nice Pictures

 

[Skylineblinkfan]

Thats pretty sweet! I wouldent have the guts to have that on my finger. Do they not sting?

 

[Skylineblinkfan]

Wait. Its dead isint it?

 

[Precarious]

Wait. Its dead isint it?

Not exactly dead, but in the process of dying. That's why I found it on the ground.

It seemed like the stinger was the least dead part of it!

From what I've read the females have the deadly sting while the males have a partially functional stinger, but mainly rely on their mandibles for defense. I don't know if this is a male or female. All I know is it was thrusting its stinger which is why you'll see the stinger is facing my thumbnail whenever possible. :blink:

 

[lancaster1313]

Its beautiful!

I wish I could have one.

 

[mykey14]

Some say there sting feels like a hypodermic needle.

 

[Precarious]

Its beautiful!

I wish I could have one.

Maybe you'll get one for Christmas if you're very good. :innocent:

 

[Skylineblinkfan]

Well anywho, good pictures as always precarious! In woods around here i can find this weird wingless bee, well at least i think its a bee, it has red stripes and its very fuzzy. The ones ive seen have been right under an inch in length, but whats crazy is how long of a stinger it has. The stinger is sooo skinny it looks like a very pointy and solid hair trying to sting you. The stinger is at least the body length of the "bee." Next time i come across one i will try to capture it. They are pretty darn quick.

 

[Skylineblinkfan]

Not just capture it btw, i mean so i can take photos and post them.

 

[lancaster1313]

Maybe you'll get one for Christmas if you're very good. :innocent:

I will try my best!

The only vespid I have now is an injured male paper wasp who was found with a broken wing, we have had him since July 3rd. I can't believe he is still with us, as I am a vespid noob. My daughter and I can't help it, we are compelled to save the poor things. She is always scooping them out of the birdbath. :lol:

 

[lancaster1313]

Well anywho, good pictures as always precarious! In woods around here i can find this weird wingless bee, well at least i think its a bee, it has red stripes and its very fuzzy. The ones ive seen have been right under an inch in length, but whats crazy is how long of a stinger it has. The stinger is sooo skinny it looks like a very pointy and solid hair trying to sting you. The stinger is at least the body length of the "bee." Next time i come across one i will try to capture it. They are pretty darn quick.

It might be a velvet ant, I hear that they have a very painful sting.

 

[Idolofreak]

Man, these guys are CREEEEEEEPY!!! They make a nest in our back yard every other year, and they're REALLY aggressive and territorial. Smallest I've ever seen was only like 0.75" long, biggest can be the size of hummingbirds (No flippin' joke)! The stingers on the big ones can be almost 0.25" long, and the venom can swell your finger/arm/toe/whatever it stings to twice its normal width. When these guys catch the cicadas they sting them, and the venom has a different effect on insects (Paralysis). So it's easier for them to bring the cicadas to the nest. I've actually seen them catch a cicada before. They hover around and sting the cr@p out of it, then slowly drag it into a burrow in the ground to lay their eggs inside it. I LOVE bugs, but watching a cicada killer drag a screaming, struggling cicada into its burrow is like watching a horror movie. :blink: They're also about as intelligent as most mantids (Except these actually work as a team to solve a problem). My dad tried to catch one a couple years ago, and it escaped, flew over the house, and brought a friend back. :blink: Somehow no one in my family's ever been stung.

 

[Precarious]

Well anywho, good pictures as always precarious! In woods around here i can find this weird wingless bee, well at least i think its a bee, it has red stripes and its very fuzzy. The ones ive seen have been right under an inch in length, but whats crazy is how long of a stinger it has. The stinger is sooo skinny it looks like a very pointy and solid hair trying to sting you. The stinger is at least the body length of the "bee." Next time i come across one i will try to capture it. They are pretty darn quick.

Sounds like a velvet ant. The females are wingless while the males are more like a normal wasp. I have one of the Thistledown variation (Dasymutilla gloriosa). They make a really cool sound when they feel threatened too.

You're not supposed to handle them because the sting is legendary but how can I resist that face??? :wub:

 

[lancaster1313]

Ooh! Your velvet ant is beautiful too! :wub:

 

[Precarious]

:blink: Somehow no one in my family's ever been stung.

Apparently, the males are very much like male Carpenter Bees - very territorial but no real threat to humans. They may buzz you but it's all part of their bluster. The females may be another story entirely, but from your description it sound like you witnessed the males doing their mating rituals. Wish I could see that. A friend said he saw them swarming close by. I'll have to take a walk to where he was talking about and see what I can find.

 

[Precarious]

Ooh! Your velvet ant is beautiful too! :wub:

I bet you say that to all the boys... :blush:

 

[Skylineblinkfan]

Your totally right about it being a velvet ant. I googled them and yes the red and black ones are very abundant here. Have you gotten a pic with the stinger extruding? The stinger is sooooo wicked.

 

[Precarious]

Your totally right about it being a velvet ant. I googled them and yes the red and black ones are very abundant here. Have you gotten a pic with the stinger extruding? The stinger is sooooo wicked.

No. Tough to get any pics of it because they are in constant motion. I have seen her extend and retract it now and then and it is really long.

But I still must hold her. :devil2: